Four Years Running
by alwaysbemyalpha
Summary: Jana/Aran. It's been four years since Aran and Jana have last seen each other, and Aran has something to ask her. As usual, there's tension between the pair, but this time, will they end up showing their true feelings, rather than just anger and a fight for power? Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** **Wolfblood doesn't belong to me.**

* * *

20 year old Jana Vilkas closed the back door of her house one sunny Friday evening, having been at work for the day. Her house backed on to the woods on the outskirts of Stoneybridge, and even after all these years, she still wasn't used to being cooped up at Segolia for five hours a day. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her work – in fact, she loved it – but she just always needed to let off some steam after a day in the city.

For a while, Jana just ran and ran, a huge smile on her face as she leaped over fallen logs and ran through the trees. Having lived in Stoneybridge for over four years now, she knew these woods like the back of her hand. However, something felt different that day.  
She couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but something in the air felt different; and it wasn't a bad different, either. It was almost…familiar.

Still, she continued to run and eventually stopped at the top of a hill, looking out across the small village that sat a few miles out of Stoneybridge. Inhaling a deep breath, she smiled and looked around, the evening sun creating a homely glow through the trees and over the hills.

* * *

Aran ran for miles towards the woods he had spent a bit of time in a few years back. If he remembered rightly, the place was called Stoneybridge.  
It smelled just like he remembered it, and the evening sun was warm on his face as he ran through the tall trees and over the small stones that stuck out of the dry ground.

He was out of breath, but he didn't want to stop. It had been far too long since he had seen his Alpha and he wasn't planning on letting the sun set on this day without seeing her face again.

After another few miles, he reached the top of a hill that looked out over a small, unfamiliar village.  
And then he saw her: a flash of red hair against the green of the trees, her back turned to him and her shirt and jacket slightly covered in mud. He hadn't been expecting to find her up here in the woods, but he knew it was her; not only was the red hair and outline of her silhouette all too familiar, so was her scent. It was undeniable.

Jana was just about to turn around to find a log or tree stump to sit on and admire the view when she heard a voice from behind her.  
"Jana." The voice was quiet, rough and husky; she knew it well, and the sound of it in her ears made her heartbeat increase rapidly.

Slowly she turned around, a small gust of wind allowing Aran's scent to fill her nose properly. He was standing metres away from her, but his scent was so strong and his green eyes were so unmissable in this sunlight that he might as well have been within touching distance.

Jana's eyebrows rose in shock and, slowly, a grin worked its way on to her lips with all of her teeth showing.

"Aran." She finally responded. Aran smiled when he heard her soft voice. He smiled even wider when he saw her run to hug him.

Jana wrapped her arms tightly around Aran's neck and pulled him close, feeling him hug her back. His arms were around her waist, so tightly, and both Aran and Jana wondered how they'd lasted four years without doing this. Without seeing each other. Without talking to each other. Without _each other_.

"I've missed you," Jana said over his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, although she felt weirdly teary. If she was honest with herself, every night since Aran had gone back to the wild had been spent thinking about him. And Aran was the same.

All those years ago, after Rhydian and the rest of his pack had saved most of the Wolfbloods from Alex Kincaid, Aran had gone back to the wild pack to serve as Alpha; after Jana had decided to stay in the human world, she had passed on her pack leader responsibilities to Aran, knowing he would do the best job. She trusted him with her life, so she knew she could trust him with her pack.

"I've missed you too." Aran replied sincerely, tightening his grip around her. They hugged for a few more minutes as the gentle breeze whipped around them, and when they pulled apart, Aran kept his arms loosely around her waist, his hands gently pressed in to the small of her back.

"What are you doing here?" Jana asked, smiling up at him. He had barely changed.

"I came to see you."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to be without you anymore."

Jana smiled again.

Aran looked her face all over. She _had_ changed.  
All of her features seemed more mature now, and she had had her scarlet red hair cut so that it was hanging to just above her chest. Her eyes were still the same breathtaking colour and her smile seemed to have grown more beautiful than ever before.

Aran let out a small smile, tightening his grip around her waist.

"What?" Jana asked curiously when he smiled.

"Nothing," Aran replied, "it's just…you have changed."

"I have?"

He bowed his head once. "You have."

"You haven't," Jana said, still smiling ridiculously. She was holding the tops of his arms. "You still look…like you."

"That is a good thing?"

Giggling slightly, Jana nodded, letting her eyes fall for a second. "It is."

The pair walked for a while, talking and laughing together, catching up on everything they had missed.

After an hour or so, the sun was just beginning to set and the breeze had cooled down slightly, making Jana glad she had worn a jacket out here. Of course, she hadn't been planning on staying out in the woods this long, but Aran had sort of changed that plan when he arrived. She just wanted to spend time with him.

The air grew silent between the pair, but they were just enjoying each other's company.

"Jana," Aran said in to the silence after another short while, his voice rough and husky as he stopped walking. Jana stopped too, turning to him with a small, expectant smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

His gaze fell to the floor and he nervously shuffled his foot around in the dirt beneath him. His hands were buried deep in to his pockets. "Please do not be angry with me," he started. Jana frowned very slightly. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Jana asked, concerned. He looked unsettled and nervous.

"You…you have been living in the human world for quite some time now..."

"…And?" Jana prompted when Aran didn't finish his sentence.

"And I…I wondered if maybe it was time for you to return," his eyes finally came up to meet hers, but he didn't raise his head. "To the wild."

Jana raised her eyebrows. "And why would I want to do that?" She asked, confused.

"Because it is where you belong."

"No, I belong here now. That's why I stayed here."

Aran remained quiet for a moment, the only sound being the birds tweeting in the trees as the gentle wind rustled the leaves. Jana could also hear Aran's breathing; it was quiet, but it was there, and as she tuned in to his heartbeat, she realised it was beating quickly.

"You know my stand on this, Jana." He eventually said, his voice low and rough.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jana raised her eyebrows.

"It means that you know my opinion on all of this. I do not think you belong in the human world."

"They aren't separate worlds, Aran. You talk like this place is an alien planet."

Aran gave her a funny look. "What is an alien?"

Rolling her eyes, Jana kicked a stone along the ground beneath her. "It doesn't matter. That's not the point. The point is, humans and the world they live in are not the enemies."

"You even talk like a human!"

"How can I _talk_ like a human, Aran? We have the same language! And you know living here makes me happy..."

"Does it?" Aran challenged, eyebrows raised as he moved one step closer to her.

Jana faltered for a fleeting moment, her eyes flicking down to his parched lips and then back up again. She _did_ love living where she lived and working where she worked- of _course_ she did. But she knew that Aran would only see the side of her that occasionally missed the freedom of living wild; he could always see things she was hiding under the surface.

"I love my life, Aran. Do not question my decisions."

"I will question you if I want to."

"I am your _Alpha._ " She said through gritted teeth, clenching her fists at her side and leaning closer to him angrily.

"Not since you became _tame_ ," he spat, "now you are no longer the Pack Leader. Therefore, I do not have to answer to you anymore. If you are not pack leader, you are not my Alpha!"

Slowly, Jana unclenched her fists and brought her head away again, a sadness taking over her eyes. She hadn't expected those words to hurt so much.

"You said I would always be your Alpha." Jana said, her voice now small.

Now it was Aran's turn to falter, his mouth opening and closing helplessly, regretting the words he had just said. "I...I didn't mean that Jana, I...I was just angry."

Jana folded her arms over a chest; in a sad, closed-off way rather than defensively. "Well maybe you should stop being angry at _my life_ choices, and either accept me the way I am now, or just..."

"...just what?"

"...leave." Jana's word was a whisper, and she was looking him dead in the eye, her eyes sad, and it made Aran feel bad for a long, painful moment. Eventually he had to look away, his eyes falling to the floor where his foot was shuffling nervously. His hands were still buried deep in to his pockets.

"I do not want to leave you, Jana," Aran finally said, "I...I want to stay. You _are_ still my Alpha. You will _always_ be my Alpha, in the wild or not... Close to me...or not."

Jana was still looking at him and her face softened, her lips releasing a tiny smile. Hesitantly, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a hug.

"I am sorry." Aran said over her shoulder, his voice muffled against the hood of her jacket. She held him tighter.

Once they parted, Aran looked her in the eyes for a brief moment, his lips pulled together nervously. And then he let her go, crouching down before her as a sign of submission, like he always used to do back when Jana was the wild pack Leader.

He put one hand on the floor to steady himself, his eyes and head hanging low.

Jana smiled, shaking her head lightly. She reached down to him.

"Don't you remember?" Jana asked softly, her hands firmly on the tops of his arms, slowly bringing him back up to her level. "I don't want allegiance. I want trust."

When he was standing again, he smiled, and she smiled, and she reached down to take his hand in hers.

They kept walking.

* * *

Eventually, the pair of wolfbloods stopped by a stream that ran clear against a mossy hillside, the water trickling lightly as the night's first stars appeared in the darkening blue sky above them.

Jana was standing a few metres away from Aran now. She was watching the water trickle past, but Aran was just watching her. The air around them was fairly dim now but the very last glimmer of orange light from the sun was illuminating Jana's face, making her scarlet red hair seem brighter than ever. The light breeze was blowing it back, and she was blinking rapidly as the wind hit her, a soft smile on her face. His heart raced as he looked at her. She was dazzling; something as incredible as her almost seemed impossible to Aran.

But she was here, and she was right in front of him, and she wasn't going anywhere.

"Jana," Aran's voice came up after a few more minutes. Slowly, Jana turned her head to face him and she smiled a little wider upon seeing his face. And without giving himself permission, he was speaking again. "You are beautiful."

At first, Jana looked slightly stunned. But then an even bigger smile broke out on her face, and she was only able to hold his gaze for a few more seconds before she was moving towards him. She couldn't stop herself.

Jana was close to him in an instant. And instinctively - as if she had been doing this her whole life - she kissed Aran then, their lips meeting in a perfect moment. Her hands clasped around his neck and just like that his hands came to sit somewhere in between her hips and her waist, fingers spread out against the her coat.

Their lips parted after a few seconds, but she kept her face up at his. The kiss hadn't been particularly long, but the sheer thrill of kissing each other after all this time had left them slightly out of breath.

Aran was a little shocked.

But as Jana bit her lip and went to let him go, he tightened his grip on her and pulled her closer once more. He kissed her again, his lips slightly parted this time, and she kissed him back as though it were instinct. This kiss lasted longer and both Aran and Jana were about to burst at the seams with all the emotion that had been held inside over the years; the emotion that was just now being released in to this moment. In to this _kiss._

Grips tightened around each other and when they pulled away again, Jana rested her forehead on his.

"...um...that was...I..." Jana was speechless. Her eyes were closed, but she could sense that his were open.

"I love you." Aran said then, so casually; as if he'd been saying it to her his whole life, as if the whole game _hadn't_ just been changed.

Pulling her head away slightly, Jana smiled up at him and pulled her lips together, green-blue eyes locked on to his. "I love you too."

Aran's lips released a tiny, barely there smile and he brought his hand up to touch her cheek. He traced her face in awe; almost unable to believe the beauty and strength that was standing before him.

Jana was smiling up at him as he looked her face all over, his hand now cupping her face and thumb smoothing over her cheekbone.

Aran's eyes met with hers once more and he finally let her body move away from his. He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together, and they continued walking.

* * *

 **Author's Note: _Hi everyone! This is my first fanfiction here, and I really hope you liked it! I'm crazy about Arana (as you can probably tell by my username) and I've been wanting to write this for a long time and finally got around to it. Please do let me know what you think :)_**

 ** _I have a Maddian one shot planned too at some point. Hopefully the inspiration to finish it off will hit me soon!_**

 ** _So I've read a few fanfics on here, but do you guys have any writers to recommend I read? Any type of fics will do; family, romance, friendship...whatever you think :)_**

 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**

 ** _\- alwaysbemyalpha xx_**


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